When Jessica Gunning arrives on our Zoom call and greets me in her native Yorkshire accent, I find myself taken aback. With the actress receiving global recognition and praise for playing Martha in Baby Reindeer (as we publish this story she has just been nominated for a TV BAFTA), it’s easy to forget that the star is not actually an unhinged Scottish stalker.
This is testament to her convincing and powerful performance, of course, and next Gunning will be flexing those fluid vocal skills to slip into a variety of accents for her latest project; the 38-year-old will be narrating the audiobook version of Death at the White Hart, the debut murder mystery novel by the esteemed television writer Chris Chibnall.
It’s one of Gunning’s first new releases following Baby Reindeer’s unexpected but rightly deserved success, and sees her reunited with Chibnall, whom she worked with in Law and Order UK in the early days of her career.
Death At The White Hart: A Gripping Crime Debut from the Creator of Broadchurch and Writer for Doctor Who
It’s Gunning’s first attempt at narrating a whole audiobook, having only featured in radio plays before.
“It’s a real challenge,” she tells me. “There are different characters, people and voices that you have to keep track of. It’s also really intimate, as it’s just you in the listener’s ear. Thankfully, Chris is such a filmic writer anyway and paints such a vivid picture, it’s only one step away from TV work.”
With Death at the White Hart already lined up to be adapted into a television series for ITV, does Gunning find herself already in the best position to land the lead as grizzled former CID Nicola Bridge? “Chris, if you’re reading this…” she jokes. “But I do love detective shows. I loved Chris’ writing on Broadchurch, I loved Mare of Easttown – they both had amazing female leads. But detective shows are always really exciting, and they do grip people.”
For now though, Gunning is playing every character in Death at the White Hart, and has enjoyed the "fun challenge" of nailing those dulcet Dorset tones. She’s no stranger to channelling dialects so very different from her own; she provided a convincing Bristolian voice in The Outlaws, a broad Welsh accent for Pride, and an Australian twang for a brief part in Inside No.9 – all part of her extensive acting portfolio.
The actress had worked consistently in British TV for nearly 18 years before the part of Martha in Baby Reindeer made her a household name. Gunning hasn’t been changed by global success (she jokes that she has a picture of her baby niece’s bare bottom next to one of her award-season trophies), though she has found her career now in realms she hadn’t seen before.
“I do feel like I’m pinching myself,” she says. “I’m really not used to this kind of world. I fell in love with the script of Baby Reindeer and thought this would be a slow burner or an indie hit; but Richard [Gadd]’s honest and powerful writing meant it really cut through. When you’re filming something, you never really think it’s going to go viral, but a little bit of magic happened that saw people all over the world respond to it.”
The show’s success meant that Gunning did the awards-season circuit, where she picked up an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award. “For the award shows, I had a glam squad and was wearing custom dresses from Christian Siriano and Gabriela Hearst, walking around the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party,” she recalls.
“I won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Martha over actresses I have admired my entire life, such as Cate Blanchett and Kathy Bates. I had a Zoom call with Kathy ahead of the awards and she told me how much she loved Baby Reindeer and I had to stop myself from crying a little bit, because I was just so overwhelmed that she'd even watched it.”
Having given a career-defining performance nearly two decades into her acting work, Gunning hopes that it may help to change the idea of success, perhaps easing the pressure on younger actors who fear they will fade into obscurity if their first few projects aren’t smash hits.
“I’ve always told those just starting out that there isn’t any rush,” she says. “Olivia Colman was not in her twenties when she starred in Broadchurch, and I wouldn’t have got a part as incredible as Martha straight out of drama school.
“Liz Smith, who was incredible in The Royle Family, was 49 when she started acting. The time and the role has to be right.”
Thankfully, we are starting to see a shift away from this style of thinking – that only young actresses can have award-winning, interesting parts. Jennifer Coolidge’s turn on The White Lotus earned her widespread critical acclaim, while Demi Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance saw her earn an Oscar nomination – decades after a studio executive dismissed her as a ‘popcorn actress’.
“I think the success of Baby Reindeer shows that audiences want to see more stories about real people,” Gunning adds. “People want to see actors of all ages, all sizes, all races, and hear their stories. It’s great that people like Parker Posey and Jennifer Coolidge, who have been around for years, are finally being recognised and having their moment.”
In addition to Death at the White Hart, Gunning’s post-Baby Reindeer projects are varied; she has just wrapped filming on Steven Soderberg’s upcoming dark comedy The Christophers, as well as starring alongside Nicola Coughlan in The Magic Faraway Tree. She is also due to appear alongside Bella Ramsey in the dark coming-of-age comedy Sunny Dancer – and Gunning adds she would "love" to check in to The White Lotus, which is heading towards its third-season finale when we speak.
But does she fear that she will always be defined by Baby Reindeer, and typecast as Martha? “It took me 17 years to wait for the part of Martha, and I wouldn't mind waiting another 17 if another part like that came along – although, ideally, I would keep working in between.
“I think maybe if I'd been Martha about 10 years ago, I would be worried about being pigeon-holed. But the parts I’m seeing coming in are very different to Baby Reindeer. Though really, I don’t mind always being associated with Martha. I’m so proud to have been part of that show.”
